


Mending Fences

by lasairfhiona



Category: CSI: Miami
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-11-27
Updated: 2010-11-27
Packaged: 2017-10-13 10:09:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/136089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasairfhiona/pseuds/lasairfhiona
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Horatio has an apology to make</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mending Fences

**Author's Note:**

> episode based. 7x01 Resurrection. and in my world Jake Barkley doesn't exist

Horatio rubbed his chest.  It still hurt. Even with the vest on, the impact from the high-powered round still bruised him. The pain however was worth the end result. The ammunition was off the street. Ron Saris was hopefully dead. He wasn't taking that to the bank until he saw Saris's body for himself. Now it was time to come back to life, so to speak, and face the music.  He knew there were a few people, and one in particular, weren't happy with the way he chose to go about closing the case.

Walking into the lab, he knew the news his death was staged had already spread, by the smiles and "welcome backs" he received.  Natalia had greeted him a hug, as had Valera, an uncharacteristic gesture on both their parts. The only person he hadn't seen yet was Calleigh. Her absence hadn't gone unnoticed by everyone and even Ryan had commented on it.  He knew he'd have some explaining to do to her so he headed to the ballistics lab before he went anywhere else. If she wasn't going to come to him, he'd have to go to her.

Horatio stood in the doorway to the lab. It surprised him to find her and Stetler with their heads together talking quietly.  "Calleigh?"

"Horatio..." she replied coldly when she saw him standing there.

"Horatio," Stetler greeted the CSI, taking a step back from Calleigh to put a little distance between them.

"Rick.  Will you excuse us?  I'd like to talk to Calleigh, please," Horatio requested barely looking at the other man..

Rick looked between Calleigh and Horatio and when he saw her nod he said, "I'll talk to you later," to Calleigh.

Horatio watched as Calleigh nodded in response before the IAB officer left the room.

"What do you want Horatio?" She asked.

"I hadn't seen you yet. I thought we should talk," he said not really sure where to start with her.  Their friendship had been strained for a while now but it didn't change the fact she was important to him.

"I don't want to talk to you right now," she told him, turning her back to him.

"Cal..."

Spinning around she glared at him before telling him, "No Horatio, I am so angry with you right now and I can't guarantee I won't say or do something I'll regret later." Decking him was her first inclination right after calling him a right bastard for not trusting them, her.

"Please," Horatio almost begged, his hands open in surrender.

"Oh hell," she said then threw the pen she was holding down on the work bench.  "How could you do this to me? To Eric?"

"Your responses to my death had to be real incase people were watching.  And Eric – I couldn't do that to him if had turned out bad. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you," he told her.  He really was sorry he hurt her.

"You should have thought about that before you made it your personal crusade to bring down Saris on your own. We're supposed to be a team Horatio." Calleigh told him.

"We are a team," he refuted.

"No Horatio," she repeated, "We're not. Not anymore. You abandoned us when you went off to be Miami's Avenging Angel. You work on your own, once in a while you bring in Ryan or Eric.. I can go days without even seeing you in the hallways."

"I'm sorry," he said softly. It was the only thing he could say to her, there was no way he could explain away the truth.

"I believe you actually mean that. But I don't think it will change anything, and Horatio something really needs to change," she told him.

"I know..."  Horatio knew she was right. He just wasn't sure how to go about getting them back to where they were.

"That's the first step, Horatio. Now live up to it..." she told him, picking up her pen and report again indication the conversation was over.  "Horatio..."

"Yeah..." he said as he turned to leave.

"Welcome back..." Calleigh added as he left.

"Thanks," Horatio said softly as he left.  He was glad he and Calleigh had a chance to talk.  If nothing else it opened an avenue for them to try and mend their friendship.  But like she told him things would have to change and that would be the hardest part – more than what walking into her lab had been.


End file.
